Revival
by Hyfy
Summary: WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon barely managed to scrape through the Yggdrasil crisis. Set after 'Digital Monsters: X-Evolution'.


A/N: Set not-so-directly after X-Evolution. What's up with not being able to find any fics with MetalGarurumon listed as the main character, huh? Take WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon as alternate versions of the two in Adventure, like who they'd have become in this world. They have the same voice-actresses, anyway :)

"How many times have you died on me already?" WarGreymon asked abruptly. "A hundred? A million?"

MetalGarurumon snorted. "You're a hypocrite. Thrice, at the most. You must've died at least twice on our way here, and I bet you died when you took that hit for Tokomon, just that you never told anyone."

"Astute as always." WarGreymon laughed hollowly, leaning against the cave wall that had become their hangout. Outside, the faint roar of a waterfall could be heard, a continuous patter of water onto rocks. "Couldn't be helped. I would've come back anyway, no matter how many times I'd died, since you seemed to be clinging on to life so hard. Although I did have my doubts, the last time you died." His eyes narrowed as he said the last sentence, unwillingly reliving the days when he'd worried that he'd have to carry on alone. At that time, he'd spent immoderate amounts of time just lying in the cave - this very cave - where he'd met up with MetalGarurumon so many times, discussing the latest peace talks they'd been having with the local Digimon.

"It's easier to stay dead once you get there, but I wasn't about to be bested by you," he joked. His tone was light, but his expression had darkened. He, too, was reliving his own painful memories. "Sorry for taking so long to get back. Though I guess staying there wasn't really a choice, seeing as we were the only Ultimate-levels to make it out of that hell-hole."

Shadows crossed over their faces at the mention of 'that hell-hole'. They had been the last Digimon to cross over into the New World from the old one before it had been deleted. Finding the crossing point itself had been one hell, and shepherding all the Digimon still fit to travel had been still another. Maybe only one percent of the Digimon population had the X-Antibody, but even that had been a near-unmanageable mass. Not all of that one percent had made it through the crossing point. They had been mere seconds late in finding it, and the line of Digimon passing into the New World had been abruptly truncated, the Old World and the Digimon in it ceasing to exist.

Even those who'd made it hadn't had a easy time in the new Digital World. Discrimination from the local Digimon awaited them around every corner, for surviving what was supposed to have killed them. The discrimination had sometimes turned violent. They'd made it through one set of obstacles, but it seemed as if all they had done was create a new set of problems for themselves. Even the refugee camps, like the one that Wizarmon, Silphymon and Mummymon had set up, were no guarantee against raids by the local Digimon. They'd tried everything, from treating to trying to incite feeling against the Royal Knights, but half the meetings had ended up with them fleeing for their lives. It hadn't just been that, either. As unofficially elected leaders of the refugees, or the 'resistance', as the higher-ups in the digital government had begun to call them, the two had been besieged with calls for help. Those requests weren't the only things coming in. So did reports of refugee camps that had fallen, treaty meetings that had been betrayed to the Royal Knights. Even after crossing in the the New World, there had been no rest for any of them.

"Imperialdramon would've done the same," MetalGarurumon said softly. WarGreymon's heart clenched at the mention of the other Ultimate-level - one out of three of them who'd had the X-Antibody, and part of the group of five who had brought the X-Antibody Digimon to the crossing point. Now only he and MetalGarurumon remained. "Come back, I mean. The will to live, y'know? You can't really fight for something you don't believe whole-heartedly in. Even if everyone around you is dropping like flies, including those you're closest to."

"Though reincarnating so many times isn't something you really wanna go through," WarGreymon muttered. "I mean, hell, even The Big Almighty One, Alphamon the Royal Knight, only died twice, and he's now a carefree Dorumon who has no idea who he is."

This startled a real laugh out of MetalGarurumon. "What, spouting wisecracks now that we're being treated as equal beings? Did you know that he's met up with that Tokomon you'd given the X-Antibody to again? Apparently he knows Tokomon, but not what happened after he evolved to DoruGreymon."

"Good for him." WarGreymon mock-shuddered. "No one needs to know that they're Alphamon. It'd be like some kind of omen hanging over them. I won't evolve beyond this, but imagine if I evolved into Omegamon. That'd be a horror."

MetalGarurumon laughed again. "You just have a bias against the Royal Knights. Come on, let go of the grudge already. War's over. We don't have to race all over the world to save a few strays from a royal execution anymore, or try to find some stable land that isn't dissolving as we speak."

"As long as it's over," WarGreymon mumbled. "You'd better not find any more reasons to die during peacetime, it's just stupid. Plus I would have to follow you."

"Same goes to you," countered MetalGarurumon, yawning and stretching. "But right now all I want to do is sleep for the next eon or so."

"After practically of lifetime constant adrenaline-high living as fugitives from justice?" WarGreymon asked incredulously. "The Yggdrasil persecution's just ended, and already you're all set to sit back and slack? No plans for the rebuilding of the Digital World after it nearly got deleted? No amazing ideas about how to integrate the X-Antibody Digimon into the local communities now that the Yggdrasil-induced stigma is gone? Nothing?"

"We fought for peace. It's peacetime," MetalGarurumon yawned. "The Digital World will sort itself out. We've done pretty much for two crazy Digimon. I'm sure every one of the X-Antibody Digimon knows you - you're like the living emblem of what used to be called the 'resistance'."

"So are you," WarGreymon pointed out.

"Exactly," said MetalGarurumon, smiling. "That's why we can leave it to extremely people like Mummymon and Silphymon to tend to these things. We're fighters, after all - logistics has never been our forte."

"… Fine." Grudgingly. "Don't say I didn't warn you if you become fat and rusty."

"I can't get fat, I'm not organic anymore. You still are, though."

"Shut up."


End file.
